A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Saturday 19 March 2011

Perigee Moon

Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth. BUDDHA

Tonight we returned home at 7 pm after visiting our son and his girlfriend. Before going indoors we looked to the east and saw a huge, blood-red moon beaming through trees just above the horizon. It was fantastic. Now, at 9 pm, the moon has climbed higher in the sky, and has diminished in scale, returning to radiant white - but it still seems much bigger and brighter than usual.

Checking on the Internet I read that on 19 March 'a full moon of rare size and beauty' will rise in the east at sunset. Apparently it's a super 'perigee' moon, the biggest in almost 20 years (the 'perigee' is the point nearest the earth's centre in the moon's orbit) - and it's at least 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a moon which occurs on its orbital 'apogee' (ie when the moon is furthest from the centre of the earth).

Go take a look!

6 comments:

Ruth said...

I can't wait! It rises at 8:07pm here. I saw the almost full moon last night, and it was amazing.

Sabine said...

That explains it! We have been staring at it transfixed for quite some time tonight.

Dan Gurney said...

Hi, Robert. It hasn't risen yet here in California and won't for a couple of hours. I'll feel it, but we won't see it here. We're in for some heavy rain and strong winds overnight.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Takes my breath away.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes, I took a photograph of it too Robert but it was rather cloudy here so it didn't come out as well as this one.

Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow said...

What a great quote to pair with the photo and your discussion of this planetary and filial-satellite dance.